Introducing new design team member Krystle Thomas

Hi everyone!  


My name is Krystle and I live in Albuquerque, NM with my wonderful husband of 8 years. 

I first picked up scrapbooking way back in 1997 and it has been so fun to see both my personal style and this industry grow over the past 14 years.  


For me, scrapbooking is a relaxing creative release and a beautiful way to preserve memories.  I love everything about this craft, especially sharing inspiration and connecting with other scrappers. 

We are so super excited to have Krystle on the team! Her layouts are amazing, her work has been published in magazines!! We can't wait to see more from her. Please take a moment to welcome Krystle by leaving a warm welcome comment below. Please get to know more about Krystle by checking out her blog here: Krystle's Blog.

Introducing new design team member Lori McClellan

I have been married to my best friend for 18+ years.  We have 4 kids, 3 girls and 1 boy ranging in age from 6 to 14.  When I am not fulfilling my role as a stay-at-home mom, I am a college student at DATC studying Graphic and Web design, (the closest degree you can get to scrapbooking).  I am also the owner and graphic designer for my own business, Graphik Xpressions - a one stop shop for all your graphic design needs.  


I love all things about paper crafting, which has lead to a happy hobby of hoarding all sorts of paper crafting supplies.  Some of my favorite supplies and tools are pretty paper, lots of ribbon, bling, glitter, adhesive, wire, brads, ATG gun, my cricut and over 100 cartridges, crop-a-dile, spray paint, trimmer,.........I could go on, but I think you get the idea.  


My passion in papercrafting is making altered art.  I believe that you can make ANYTHING into a crafty project, and I have been known to turn very unusual things into something useful and beautiful.  We are surrounded by things just waiting to be created.  


Previously I have taught classes for local craft stores, one of my favorite things to tell the students is "How does it live in your crafty world?"  I understand that some people like to copy a project, but I encourage everyone to step back and try to think of how to add your own creative touch.  


I hope that my work can inspire you to try new techniques, think about papercrafting in a new way, help you step out of your box and find your own creative world. 

What a great project!! We are so very excited to have Lori as part of the team. Please get to know more about Lori on her blog. Help welcome Lori by leaving a comment below, thanks!!

Introducing new design team member Carolyn Lontin

My name is Carolyn Lontin.  I am married to Rick; we have one son, Seth and two crazy dogs! We live in gorgeous Colorado, in a suburb just south of Denver.

I began scrapping in October 2001 to preserve my son's childhood memories and it quickly became an obsession! 

I love capturing my family's "real" moments in both my photos and in my journaling on my layouts. I have found the creative outlet of scrapping to be incredibly relaxing and quite addictive, which is shocking to the previously dominate non-artistic side of me! 

Over the past few years, I have had the honor of having my work published in major publications.

Since 1994, I have been a Human Resource Director for a manufacturing company. I also enjoy spending time with family and friends, photography, exercising, cheering on my son's baseball & football teams, mini-adventures exploring in the mountains, playing with our dogs, and reading.

I am super excited to be a part of The Hen’s Den Design Team!!

We are thrilled to have Carolyn as part of the team! Please give Carolyn a warm welcome by leaving a comment below. To see more of Carolyn's work please take a moment to check out her designs on her blog.

Introducing new design team member Nicolle Kramer

My name is Nicolle Kramer . I am 37 and from the chilly city of Buffalo New York. Most people think its awful living here. I love it here. Our area has a bad reputation. The change in seasons from our chilly below zero cold winters to our hot and humid close to 100 degree temps in summer. Whats not to love??? 


I have been married for 18 years to my handsome hubby Mike. I am lucky enough to be able to be a stay at home mom to my 4 wonderful children. I have 2 boys, Ryan 18, Bret17, and 2 girls Kayla 15,Jolie 9. I have been scrapping for about 8 years. 


I went to a make n take at Michael's and was instantly hooked. Describing my scrapbook style is never easy. I guess I would call it eclectic. I am an ever evolving scrapper who loves using bright bold colors,textures and lots of embellishments to enhance the story being told on my page in a unique and creative way that keeps the viewer continually discovering new details every time they see one of my pieces.

I love learning new techniques and inspiring others as well as being inspired by others who share this hobby that I am so passionate about.


We are just thrilled to have Nicolle as part of our team!! Please leave a comment below to help welcome her!! To see more of her great work please take a moment to check out her blog.

Introducing new design team member Theresa Harris {aka The Scrapbooking Queen}

Hello my name is Theresa and I have been crafting for as long as I can remember. 

I had the opportunity to manage a popular craft store for over 6 years and enjoyed inspiring other’s to create. 

I starting my blog TheScrapbooking Queen as an additional outlet for my crafting and it interact with other like mind crafters. My blog has now grown to over 2500 followers and it has been a joy to share my love of crafting with others via the internet. I have extensive experience in marketing and feel it is one my greatest

strengths as it allows me to showcase product and I blessed to go to CHA every year and see all the new companies upcoming product lines.

Currently my husband and I co-own a Notary service together that allows me to work from home. I am the proud mother of two wonderful and talented adult girls and a sweet creative grandson Jason , a I have 4 fur~babies, Princess Penelope, Ringo, Chip and Annabella, who you'll see also inspire some of my  creative side.

Theresa Harris

{aka The Scrapbooking Queen}

Teresa The Scrapbooking Queen's cards are sure to inspire you!! We are so very excited she is a member of the team!! Please be sure to check out her blog to get to know her better.

Introducing new design team member Becky Garrison

Hello, My name is Becky Garrison, and I am so honored and excited to be a part of the 2012 Design Team at The Hen's Den! 


I am a life long Georgia girl, raised in the foothills of the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains.  I am a child of the 1950's, and some of my earliest memories are of my mother teaching me to make paper dolls from the pictures in the Sears catalog and furniture for them from cardboard.  


I have tried many different types of crafts over the years, but paper crafting in general and card making specifically has taken root in my heart and is my joy, my therapy, and very often my sanity.  Very simply put, playing with paper, scissors, glue, and all the other things that go with them, makes me happy!  


I am blessed to be married to a wonderful man who is also my best friend - in 2012 we will celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary.  We love to travel, go camping and canoeing and exploring new areas of the country just to see what's around the bend.  I am retired from the corporate world and enjoy being a SAHM to our two mini Dachshunds, Bailey and Bessie.  I am also caregiver to my 80+ year old Mama, who thankfully doesn't need a lot of care, in fact she can work rings around me, and it is my joy and honor to be there to help her when she needs me.   

I love teaching what I know to others, and even more I enjoy encouraging others in their endeavors.   If I had to pick one style that best fits me, that would be difficult, but I would probably say vintage/retro and I truly love finding vintage images to use in my projects. 

Being a part of The Hen's Den team is a wonderful opportunity, and I am most blessed and grateful to have been chosen.  Thank you! 


We are so excited to get to know and work with Becky, she has some amazing card ideas!! Please welcome Becky to the team by leaving a comment below. To get to know more of Becky please stop by her blog. 

The Hens' Den 2012 Design Team announcement

We are so excited and thrilled with the responses we had for design team submissions. We wish we could have chosen everyone who had submitted, there is so much wonderful talent out there!! Because there were so many submissions we could not narrow it down to just FOUR, do we draw straws? Flip a coin? No, no, we break the rules and add SIX!!


Please welcome the following new designers to the team! 

Becky Garrison, GA 

http://camelliacottagedesigns.blogspot.com

Theresa Harris {aka The Scrapbooking Queen}, CA 

http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com

Nicolle Kramer, NY 

http://nicollelovesscrapbooking.com 

Carolyn Lontin, CO 

http://carolynlontin.blogspot.com 

Lori McClellan, UT 

http://sentimentalxpressions.blogspot.com 

Krystle Thomas, NM 

http://hightimesinthehighdesert.blogspot.com 

Returning DT members for 2012:

Charlie LaBonte, WA - Owner/Operator

http://charlielabonte.blogspot.com

Cheri Piles, WA - Design Team Lead

http://cherinspirations.blogspot.com

Carla Oliveira, WI - Asst. Design Team Lead

http://carlascuriouslycraftychaos.blogspot.com

Over the next six days we will be introducing our newest designers, please stop back by to get to know them.

Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium layout inspiration by Carla

What a fabulous line this is. I loved working with it. You can check it out HERE

I did this page with this line and wanted to share it with everyone.

The picture is of me and my girls Sadie and Mia. I bought them as a surprise for my kids back in October 2009. Both of my kids had been bugging me for a puppy so on the hunt I went, well not only did I get one but I got two. Both of my kids named the dogs, and although I say that I got them for the kids, they have become my girls.

This picture was taken in November of 2009.

We stuck big red bows around their necks......lol

Here is a description of my lay out: 

I mounted the picture with some of the G45 paper, and distressed the edges a bit. I then added ribbon around the pp paper and a bow in the corner.

I added another layer of paper and then used a couple of the Emporium tags one each corner and at the top. Mounted the top tag with some cute bling brads.

I sewed the ribbon to the side to make a cute border and added a few little Christmas flowers that I had in my stash. Again adding some more brad bling to the center of the flowers. The brad bling in the center flower is Bazzill Button Vintage Helene which is also found in the Hens Den store. 

I then added some more Emporium tags to the border.

The top boarder is also using the patterned paper, and then I cut out the little cut out from Santa Express sheet that comes with the paper line and I pop dotted them on the paper.